Fewer asylum seekers, different nationalities

15/04/2016 15:00
Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports that in March this year 1,675 individuals were registered as asylum seekers or family members joining relatives already in the country. Again, the inflow is lower than in the preceding month. Albanian nationals topped the list of first asylum applicants in March, followed by Syrians.

Albanians file more first requests for asylum than Syrians

The composition of the group of asylum seekers has changed radically. In March Albanians filed more first requests for asylum than Syrians: 224 against 127. Last year, nearly half of first requests were submitted by Syrians; Eritreans constituted the second largest group. The number of asylum applications from countries labelled as safe by the Dutch government has risen in recent months. Serbia and Kosovo each accounted for 80 first requests. Apart from Albania, Serbia and Kosovo each accounted for approximately 80 requests.

First asylum requests by nationality

Largest group of following family members comes from Syria

In recent months too, most relatives seeking family reunion came from Syria. In March 212 family members from Syria were registered, versus 127 first asylum requests. The number of following family members is due to the massive inflow of Syrian asylum seekers in the latter half of 2015. After having received a residence permit, asylum seekers can submit a request for family reunion. In the group of Eritrean nationals, the number of following relatives (87) also exceeded the number of first asylum requests (51).